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Although many students allow themselves months to write their dissertation, it is actually possible to complete the whole project in a week. The key factor in doing this successfully is being strict with yourself, so use the following tips to help you get started:

Stick to your schedule

If you know that you work best in the morning, make sure you get up early and do the bulk of your day’s work when you are still feeling fresh. Get a good night’s sleep and make sure you are in bed early enough to be up early again the next day. If you don’t stick to the schedule in the first few days, your writing will quickly roll over and have to be done at the end of the week, so try to avoid this at all costs.

Break your dissertation down into manageable chunks

The word ‘dissertation’ strikes fear into most students. In order to set yourself goals and believe that you can complete the whole dissertation, break it down into smaller sections that you can work through each day. Try and focus on the chunk you are working on instead of panicking about the sections that you still have left to do.

Make a thorough plan

It might seem tempting to skip writing a plan if you are short on time, but this is actually the worst thing you can do when trying to write at speed. The plan is what makes the final version easier to write, as the only thing you will need to do is put everything together in a logical order. Put all of your notes into the plan so that you have all of the necessary information ready for the dissertation.

Write the introduction and conclusion on the final day

The introduction and conclusion should show a clear link in ideas, so leave these until the very end to make sure that work well with both each other and the main body of text. Once you have written your dissertation, you should have a clear idea about what the reader should focus on at the beginning and end of your work.

Reference as you go

One of the biggest mistakes students make when writing a dissertation, is to leave the referencing and bibliography until the end. This takes up a large chunk of time, as you will often have to re-find sources and search through lots of information to find what you are looking for. Keep track of all of your sources and place them directly into the bibliography as you use them; you will then not need to go back and add this on at the end of the week.